A New Covenant 

The author gets to the point.

     "For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said:" 

     "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord." 

     "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people." 

     "No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." 

     "By calling this covenant 'new' he has made the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear." Hebrews: 8:7-13.

Note: Similar language regarding the new covenant: Jer. 31:31-34. 

Next: The blood and the law

 Our Intercessor

The author of Hebrews:

     Now there have been many priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office. But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

     Such a high priest meets our need - one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people.

     He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son who has been made perfect forever. 

Next: Why a new covenant?

     

The High Priest

     In Hebrews chapter 5, the author wrote: 

     "Although he (Jesus) was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation ... a high priest in the order of Melchizedek. 

Another Warning

     Chapter 6: "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened...if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because they are crucifying the Son of God all over again."

Promise to Abraham 

     "When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 'I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.'" 

     "Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath." 

     The author wrote: "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest, forever."

Tomorrow: Our intercessor

 

     

Earthly Rest; Eternal Rest

     We know about seventh-day rest.  For Jews the Sabbath begins properly Friday night at sundown and ends Saturday at sundown. Christians rest, if at all, on Sundays, marking the day of the week Jesus appeared alive. 

     The author of Hebrews, sensitive to his Jewish Christian readers, writes of Sabbath rest and of God's rest on the seventh day of creation. God also promised eternal rest, but many will be denied. So I declared on oath in my anger, "They shall never enter my rest." Psalm 95:11. (salvation).

     For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day (Heb. 4:8). The author quotes David: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.  

     For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight (4:12-13). 

     Then he writes of "Jesus, the Son of God." Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens...let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. We have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us (4:14-16).

Note: Nothing about earning salvation by good works (worthy as they may be).

Next: High Priest; promise to Abraham

Greater Than Moses

     Having shone Jewish Christians that the Son is greater than angels, the author of Hebrews then compares him to Moses. In chapter 3: 

     Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. Jesus is worthy of greater honor than Moses, as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 

     Moses was faithful as a servant... But Jesus is faithful as a Son over God's house. And we are God's house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. 

     The author reminds his readers of the rebellion and testing in the desert for forty years...and God's anger. He urges the brothers that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart. Encourage one another daily...so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. * 

     He reminds them of all those Moses led out of Egypt...with whom (God) was angry for forty years...and to whom God swore that they would never enter his rest. ** 

* Many Jews encourage one another daily, as children of Abraham.

** Those led out of Egypt saw miracles yet did not believe the promises or heed the warnings. The generation born in the desert entered the promised land.

Commentary: Some ministers fail to encourage believers to continue daily in their faith. They don't preach urgent warnings of the apostles or Jesus himself. 

 Next: Earthly Rest; Eternal Rest

Warning! 

     Having pointed to prophecy in OT scripture...that a Son (Incarnation) would appear, the author of Hebrews claims that Jesus is that Son. He had been born and laid in an animal manger. At age 30 the Father tested him. He taught people what his Father revealed, healed many, and was crucified. On the third day appeared alive, appearing to those he would commission. 

     Jewish believers in the first century facing trouble and persecution needed to be reassured in their faith and warned not to drift away from the truth.  

     The author wrote, "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? It is not to angels that he (God) has subjected the world to come" (v. 5). Then he quoted Psalms 8:4-6 and 144:3: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor, and put everything under his feet." 

     "But we see Jesus...crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, that by the grace of God he might taste death for all."

     "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death ... that is, the devil. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants...becoming a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, that he might make atonement for the sins of the people." 

Commentary: Christians may become indifferent to God's Word. We may begin to pay less attention, stop persevering, and slowly drift away from God's Son. Our responsibility is to draw near to him, continually. His responsibility is to help us in time of need.

Next: Chapter 3. Greater than Moses

 

The Oil of Joy  

     In Hebrews chapter 1, the author quotes Psalm 45:6-7: You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. 

     Loving righteousness and hating wickedness precisely describes Christ while he ministered on earth. Many scriptures reveal his faithfulness to the Father. Jesus repeatedly emphasized that everything he taught he first received from the Father. 

     The author, quoting Psalm 102:25-27: In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe, like a garment they will be hanged. But, you remain the same, and your years will never end.

     If those readers in the first century weren't convinced the Son is greater than angels, he asked, To which of the angels did God ever say, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?" and "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" 

     We appreciate Abraham, Moses, David and the prophets, even the angel Gabriel. They all had significant roles in OT history, serving the Almighty. Their contributions in service to our Lord paved the way for the arrival of the Incarnation. 

 Next: Sharing in our humanity